The present invention relates generally to providing school-related information via a computer network, and more particularly to a virtual school environment to allow teachers to communicate more efficiently with students and parents.
There is little question that parents and other guardians of children have an essential role to play in their children""s education. Activities such as Parent Teacher Association (P.T.A.) meetings and public school board meetings have traditionally been some of the most significant ways in which parents can interact with their children""s teachers and participate in evaluating and developing their children""s curriculum. Similarly, more individualized communications such as parent-teacher conferences and report cards, etc., have been important tools in enabling parents to monitor their children""s performance.
However, as societal concerns over the quality of the educational system continue, many parents and other guardians of children are seeking new ways to become more closely involved with their children""s education. A growing number of parents also face increasing demands on their time from careers, etc. As a result, they need more efficient ways in which to communicate with their children""s teachers and play an active role in their children""s education.
Many teachers, school administrators, and other educational professionals are also seeking new ways in which to keep parents informed of their student""s progress, and to encourage parental involvement with the educational system. Additionally, most teachers constantly strive to expand the boundaries of their classes beyond the classroom and expose their students to new educational resources and activities.
The invention provides a virtual school environment for allowing a plurality of teachers from a plurality of schools to communicate with their students or their students"" parents over a computer network. The virtual school environment includes a plurality of web pages accessible via the computer network and linked in a hierarchical arrangement. Each of the plural web pages corresponds to one of the teachers. The virus school environment also includes a computer server system connectable to the computer network and configured to access the plurality of web pages. The server system includes software executable by the server system to receive school assignments from one or more teachers via the computer network, and then add the received assignments to the teachers"" corresponding web pages. The server system may also be configured to transmit a selected teacher""s web page via the computer network in response to a request.
In some embodiments, the server system is configured to receive requests from parents to receive the assignments, and to automatically transmit new assignments to those parents via the computer network. Optionally, additional information may be provided on the teacher web pages including comments, grades, and links to educational resources. In another embodiment, the server system is configured to allow students who speak different languages to work together on a common assignment.